Catching up with old friends

Stars ♥ It’s been a long time, and lots has happened. Then again, it’s strange how time passes and not a lot changes. The highlights of the past few weeks are many; yet there are lots of rubbish things that have happened. Like getting a stomach bug which is only just beginning to go away after two weeks (the whole family got it, yuk). Or not being able to afford anything much. And having a nasty cold which is just starting to take hold (I’m fairly sure it’s not the dreaded S-Flu).

On the plus side, I’ve been to a free fireworks night at Ally Pally, been to Pinktober at the Royal Albert Hall courtesy of the Hard Rock Cafe giving out complementary tickets to the beloved theatre company (as Stars and Rainbows calls it…), and going to see Michael Jackson’s This Is It last night with the aforementioned not so little anymore sister – with subtitles, hooray! It was lovely, everything that he would have wanted for his fans. He really came across as a humble, playful and joyful person.

It reminded me why he and his music mattered, and still matter so much to me – because you can *see* the music, because he cared about the world, about the environment, poverty, big issues and this comes out in his lyrics (Heal the World, Earth Song, They Don’t Care About Us, etc). I think he encapsulates something indefinable – a powerhouse performer who really cared. Yes, there are loads of performers who really do care about the world, but there is nobody quite like Michael Jackson. And I think that’s the thing for me – it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, if someone’s music speaks to you, then it speaks to you.

For some, it might be the Rolling Stones or Elvis Presley or The Beatles (all fabulous), but for me, it was always Michael Jackson. From the moment my Dad threw on Thriller when I was having a strop at 5 0r 6 years old, his music, videos and dancing have been there, sometimes in the background, sometimes in front of me.